Audit finds that California DMV Issues Caused by poor Planning

In late March, the California Department of Motor Vehicles’ audit, conducted by the California Department of Finance, was released and it claims that the DMV has “significant deficiencies” and an “outdated” organizational structure that led to poor customer service and that resulted in the failed implementation of the Real ID program. It was determined by Department of Finance auditors that the DMV was not prepared to implement Real ID, which is a federally mandated program that requires people to get special ID cards if they want to board airplanes or enter other federal facilities without a passport. Congress passed the law requiring states to create Real IDs in 2005 to ensure that citizens meet increased security standards for state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards. The audit revealed that the Real ID project “was not recognized as a priority until 2017” in California, which was a year before the program’s January 2018 launch in the state. Assemblyman Jim Patterson stated the following regarding the DMV’s issues,

It took a long time to get Gov. Brown’s attention with respect to DMV. Right out of the inauguration, Gov. Newsom took some concrete action. I have increasing confidence this is now being treated as a serious matter. They’re not making excuses or looking the other way.

The Real ID program goes into effect Oct. 1, 2020, but due to the DMV’s issues, Californians are expected to be coming in for the new ID cards by 2023. The audit also revealed that there have been extensive management, training, and technology failures. Undercover auditors from the Finance Department carried out their review of the DMV by sending teams to 30 offices around the state to document things such as poor customer services that frustrated residents. The DMV has until next month to respond to the audit and will then update its corrective plan every six months until all issues have been resolved. The DMV will hopefully be able to finally correct its issues and give better customers service experiences.

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